Teacher to Ranger to Teacher Interpretation and Education

Park Name: National Trails Intermountain Region (Trail of Tears, Santa Fe, Pony Express, Oregon, Old Spanish, Mormon Pioneer, El Camino Real de los Tejas, El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, and California national historic trails)

Mailing Address: PO Box 728 Santa Fe, NM 87504

Park Contact: Carole Wendler

Park Contact Email Address: [email protected]

Park Phone Number: (505) 988-6092

Projected Dates of Detail: Six weeks during summer 2017; flexible start date; flexibility for short periods of time off.

Housing Availability: Housing is not provided. Preference is a teacher from the local commuting area.

Stipend: $3000.00 upon completion of program and graduate course requirements

Graduate Credit: 3 graduate credit hours through University of Colorado Denver Program

Hourly Requirements: Total of 240 hours of effort; 160 hours of major educational project (65%), 45 hours of online coursework (20%), 35 hours of NPS operational experiences (15%).

Application Deadline: Emailed by Friday, May 22, 2017

Additional Information: National Trails Intermountain Region (NTIR) may be one of the most unique offices within the NPS, and it is the largest office within the National Trails System. Headquartered in Santa Fe, New Mexico, NTIR collaborates with partners to find, protect, develop, and share the stories of nine national historic trails. While NTIR administers these NHTs, the actual routes on the ground are owned or managed by private, nonprofit, federal, state, county, tribal, and local landowners. The interpretive team of NTIR works with partners all over the country who wish to educate, inform, and connect the public with the trails and their significant American stories. NTIR interpreters produce a wide variety of traditional as well as digital media products. What NTIR does not do is run a visitor center, have daily personal contact with visitors, or actively engage youth. With few youth materials or programs, NHTs are poorly understood and often unheard of among the next generation. One way NTIR seeks to change this is by becoming a clearinghouse for educational materials about these nine trails. NTIR is seeking a Teacher Ranger Teacher (TRT) to provide guidance on how to accomplish this.

The specific tasks for the major education project include: 1) identifying Common Core Standards that would broadly apply to the trails across 24 states; 2) determining appropriate age levels and disciplines for curriculum focus; 3) conducting an inventory of existing online materials that meet the standards, ages, and disciplines previously identified; 4) base evaluation of existing materials to determine appropriateness for placement and distribution via NPS websites; and 5) developing recommendations and action items that will guide NTIR’s next steps. The TRT will be exposed to operational experiences that are different than those of a typical park. They will have an opportunity to work with different NTIR staff members, to visit sites in the field, to create introductory content for the educational portal pages Teacher to Ranger to Teacher Interpretation and Education

of the trails websites, and to experience events at either privately run trail-related sites or at NPS sites such as Pecos National Historic Park or Fort Union National Monument. More information about NTIR and links to all the trail websites can be found at nps.gov/ntir

More information about the Teacher to Ranger to Teacher program can be found at the following websites: The National Parks Service | Teacher Ranger Teacher Program

The successful applicant will agree to: 1. Complete all program requirements 2. Present their findings and recommendations to the NTIR staff 3. Share what she/he learned about national historic trails with other educators

Preferred Knowledge and Skills: Strong communication skills; organized, analytical, and visionary

Location Information: Work is at the Old Santa Fe Trail building in Santa Fe, NM.

See next page for application.

Teacher to Ranger to Teacher Interpretation and Education

Application Applicant Name: Home Address: Home/Cell Phone: Email Address:

Applicant’s School Name: School District/State: School Address: School Phone: Grade level and subject(s) taught:

1. Do you teach at a Title I school? (please circle) No Yes If yes, what percentage of your students qualify for Free and Reduced-Price Lunches?

2. Can you commit to approximately 4-6 weeks of time (230-240 hours) during the summer season (May-August, depending on park needs)? (please circle) No Yes

3. Describe your most effective unit or lesson plan that actively engaged students in learning. Why was it successful?

4. Why do you want to participate in Teacher Ranger Teacher?

5. How will you use your TRT experience to enrich your classroom teaching and create opportunities for your students to connect to the National Park system?

6. How will you share information and skills acquired through this experience with your school and district colleagues?

7. Describe your familiarity and experiences with local, state or national parks.

Please provide information for two professional references:

Reference 1: Name: Phone Number: Email Address: Relationship to applicant:

Reference 2: Name: Teacher to Ranger to Teacher Interpretation and Education

Phone Number: Email Address: Relationship to applicant: